Musings
by Danaye
Summary: A series of one-shots based on Alanna, from different characters' perspectives.
1. George

Set After Lioness Rampant, before the Thom is born

"_**Time is the anchor, change is the constant, love is the trigger."**_

_**- Time is the Anchor by Chris Pureka**_

George Cooper opened his eyes against the sharp light of the rising sun. He rolled over to find the other side of the bed cold. He was expecting it. However, every morning he still woke up wishing he would turn and feel her warmth there next to him. These days, his wishing was usually a futile effort. She wasn't due home until Midwinter at the least. After all, she was a knight, and her duty was to the crown first and her husband second. It was expected. Everything was expected.

He didn't resent it and he didn't regret his choice to marry her. He always knew that falling in love with Alanna meant dealing with certain things. He knew by now how to tame her anger, yet he still loved the way her eyes flashed and sparked when she was in a temper. He learned to respect her stubbornness, because frankly, she never would have gotten where she was without it. Her sharp tongue never ceased to amaze him, but it never cut him. The one thing he couldn't come to terms with was her roaming spirit.

He had allowed himself the daydream of Alanna one day settling down and having kids. They had talked about kids, and while she still wore the pregnancy charm around her neck, he was hopeful one day it would find it's way into storage. On the other hand, he knew she would never be content to waste days sitting around as a baroness. She would wander and when war called she would answer. When the king needed her, she would be there. She had sworn an oath and she believed in the crown. His Alanna was nothing if not loyal.

In the end, he would always love her. Even if she left to wander never returned, he would harbor his feelings for her until the day the Black God claimed him. His sight brought him to her and his heart kept him there.

As lost in thought as he was, George Cooper never heard the door to his chambers open. In fact he never registered another person's presence until he felt the weight shift the bed. Before he could grab the knife he kept nearby, arms wrapped around his bare waist and he turned to face a pair of violet eyes. The only thing he could say before his lips found hers was, "You're early." Maybe everything wasn't expected after all.


	2. King Jonathan IV

Set during The First Test (Protector of the Small)

"_**This is a story of understanding you can't choose who you love."**_

_**– Burning Bridges by Chris Pureka**_

King Jonathan IV of Conté ran a hand roughly through his hair out of frustration. Lord Wyldon had left shortly after Alanna had stormed out. He had no doubts about her parting words. She would stay far away from Corus as long as she was forbidden contact with the young Keladry of Mindelan. He sighed and shook his head. One of the many problems that came with kingship was the impossible task of trying to please everyone. The royal training master of the pages had a point, allowing Alanna contact with the girl would cause a cloud of doubt to surround the situation. Scandal followed Alanna everywhere. Ever since the day her real gender was revealed, rumors and disbelief became her constant shadow, always nipping at her heels. No matter how many times she proved her worthiness of her shield, her dedication and loyalty to the crown, and her ability to wield the weapons of a warrior people still saw her as a mistake. They deemed her the result of a conspiracy between pages and squires to help her become a knight. They called her the evidence of the gods meddling in the affairs of mortals. Jonathan resented that. Alanna fought for Tortall, she bled for her people, and she risked her life to bring them glory. She was a hero, yet she was still subjected to ruthless scrutiny by most.

The king looked down at the circlet in his hand that he had removed from his head earlier. Whether he was wearing the formal crown or just a simple circlet, it was a constant reminder of his station. Looking at it now, still a little numb with shock at his champion's angry words, he remembered a time when he wanted her to be his queen. He was young and subject to the yearnings of his heart. He reminisced about the mornings he would wake up with Alanna in his arms, her head resting on his chest. He remembered the sting of rejection when she refused his proposal that day in the desert. He had loved her. He still loved her, but he was older and wiser now. He had grown up. He had to. Their youthful love had grown into a fierce friendship and loyalty between a king and his knight. He had put his pride aside and accepted that while he loved her and she loved him, she could never be his queen.

Alanna was a free spirit. She roamed to the far corners of the land seeking adventure. She would not be confined by the restrictions that came with being a monarch. She would not be comfortable with ruling anymore than the people would be comfortable with her. She represented the dawn of change, a change that the people of Tortall were not quite ready to accept. Wyldon was evidence of that reluctance to transform. She had known that before he did. She had never let her feelings overrule her common sense. She knew she was the face of controversy and often the subject of court gossips. Yet she stood firm. She fought for the people who scorned her just as fiercely as she fought for her friends.

She still held a place in his heart. He loved Thayet dearly, but Alanna would always be his first. She was one of his closest friends. She had fought battles side by side with him. She battled the Ysandir at his side. She was there waiting to catch him when he left The Chamber of Ordeal. She was there when he became king. She was his sword arm. She had fought battles for him, in his name, and in the name of the crown. She was his light. Temperamental as she was, she made him laugh when no one else could. She reminded him that love came in many forms.

He watched out the window as a horse and it's rider galloped away from the palace walls. Copper hair flew as the hood was pushed back by the wind. The king followed the figure with sharp eyes until it disappeared in the distance and then turned back into his study, a wry smile on his face. A queen she would have never made, but a Lioness, his champion, and Tortall's hero she would always be.


	3. Alanna

AN: I will take requests if anybody wants a certain character's perspective written. Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated.

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Set after Lioness Rampant but before The Immortals Quartet

**_I will not lay down in the road._**

**_I will not make this easy._**

**_I don't want no saints or saviors._**

**_I will fight this war._**

**_-Torpedo by Jillette Johnson_**

"Alan!…I mean Alanna!"

The young woman sighed, brushed a stray strand of copper colored hair out of her eyes, and turned toward her friend who was calling her. It had been a few years and people still botched her name now and again. They couldn't break the habit from years of calling her by her alias.

Years ago, Alanna would have given anything to be free of her secrets. Today, however, she slightly missed the blanket of lies she had shrouded herself in for eight years. She missed being Alan of Trebond. She missed walking through the halls of the palace without whispers of gossips trailing in her wake. _"Oh please, she magicked her way to knighthood." "I'll bet her previous relationship with the King is the only reason she's his champion." "Foolish girl, thinking she's as tough as a man. She's favored by a goddess that's all, on her own she would be dead by now."_

As Alan, she was only subject to the same things that the other pages and squires dealt with. Her honor was not questionable and her magic was an asset, not a reason to doubt her abilities as a knight. As Alanna, she was a scandal. A flaw in the system set up to groom knights. Today she had had enough of it. She longed for the simplicity that came with pretending to be something socially acceptable.

Alan never had to deal with people hesitating to strike. Alan was a boy and Alan could deal with battle. Once people learned she was a female, it was almost as if she had to earn her shield all over again. Again and again, she fought her battles and won. Yet every time she faced a man in trial by combat she knew a part of him scoffed at the notion of fighting with a woman. She made sure they never scoffed again. But there were always new people to doubt her and new people to think they could beat her solely because of her gender. They doubted her handling of the sword, the strength of her arms, and the swiftness of her feet. They claimed she dabbled in places that were not those of a woman.

The days of Alan of Trebond were over. Long gone were times when insults that came her way were limited to the imagination of a page by the name of Ralon of Malvern. However, also long gone were the days when she was unable to defend herself against those stronger and bigger than her. She was no longer telling people, in order to explain black eyes and split lips, that she fell down. She had grown out of Alan's shoes. She had traveled places that Alan had only dreamed of and fought battles that Alan would've died in.

As much as she missed Alan, it was not him, but Alanna, who beat Roger of Conte. It was not a lion on her shield but a lioness. Alan was a page and a squire. Alan was her past. Alanna was a knight. Alanna was her future.

One day, people may forget who the young page Alan of Trebond was. The memories of her pert tongue and distaste of swimming would be limited to her close friends and family. Those stories would be told on nostalgic nights, along with tales of Raoul's ability to skirt social functions and John's unfortunate talent for courting women like Delia and Josaine.

On the other hand, she would make sure that they would never forget who Sir Alanna the Knight was. Those stories would be told in both broad daylight and under the cover of darkness. The name of the Lioness would be passed down through generations because, while people may disregard the boy she pretended to be, no one could ignore the woman she became.

People talked and they would continue to talk. They would insult her and question her character. She had a war on her hands. It was the war that came with being a female warrior in times where only men were trusted to pick up swords and defend the realm. It was the war that Alan had started and the one that Alanna would finish. The time for pretending was over. She had her shield and the respect of some of the most powerful men in the realm. She didn't need to hide and she wouldn't. If the conservatives and dissidents wanted a fight, she would give them one.

That being decided, Alanna's longing for the past turned to determination to change the future. She looked Raoul who was walking towards her with an impish look on his face. "I'm sorry _Lady_ Alanna. You really ought to grow your hair out. I can't help but think of Alan when I see it." He looked at the dress she was wearing, a rare sight, and chuckled. "Even if it's Alan in a dress." She fingered her hair and smiled. "Maybe I will grow it out, just a little mind you…and it's _Sir _Alanna. None of that Lady business." He gave meaningful glance at her dress and earbobs and then looked at her questioningly. She responded with a wave of her hand, "It makes the conservatives angry and confused. I don't want to go making this easy for them." _No more hiding who I am_, she thought happily. With that she set off on her way back to the castle, hitching up her sleeves so that the knives concealed beneath were made visible to staring eyes.


	4. Peachblossom

**AN: This one is fairly short, this perspective was interesting to write and harder to make accurate for obvious reasons. Thank you Annie, for the lovely review. I am currently working on a few perspectives from the younger generation, namely Neal and Kel. Those will probably be the next ones to go up. I'll probably do one for Roger and Thayet as well. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy. **

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Set in the very beginning of The First Test (Protector of the Small)

Peachblossom shuffled angrily in his stall. He did not like the man that had ridden him today and so once the man gave him a reason, an insult regarding Peachblossom's mother, the horse promptly reared and bucked until the inexperienced rider went flying. The fool had gone stocking off muttering about the unnaturalness of animals at the palace. Peachblossom had the brown haired woman to thank for that. The curly haired woman was one of the few people that Peachblossom tolerated and the more time he spent around her, the more he understood about the world.

He heard approaching footsteps and heard a loud angry exchange between the bad man he threw and someone else. Maybe it was the nice woman. However, it did not sound like her soft voice. As he had guessed, it was not the curly haired woman who came stomping into the stables and kicking up dust. Nor was it the horseman who spent so much time in the stables. It was the lady warrior.

While the lady warrior never talked to or cared for Peachblossom, he liked the woman nonetheless. She was like Peachblossom in a way. She didn't care what other people thought of her, she could knock a man out in a hundred different ways, and she never let anyone boss her around.

As the woman saddled Darkmoon, Peachblossom stuck his head over the stall enclosure to look at her. She was muttering darkly to her horse and Peachblossom picked out words such as "unfair", "away from the king", and "Idiot Wyldon". Peachblossom snorted to try to get her attention. The lady warrior looked over at the gelding. "They're all fools!" She exclaimed to the horse. "I'll find a way to help her. Goddess help me, I will." She began to walk Darkmoon out of the stable but paused right before the big doors. She turned and glanced back at Peachblossom and said fiercely, "Don't let anyone ever tell you what you can and can't do. I hope that fool of man limping away from the stables earlier was your work. He deserved the bruises." She paused to let out a frustrated sigh, "At least _you_ can bite people if need be. _I _have to maintain some sort of resemblance to a civil manner, even when everyone else around me is acting like a barbarian. I envy you." Then she was on her way, muttering angrily to herself all the way. A minute later Peachblossom heard Darkmoon's hooves pound the dirt in the distance in a hard gallop. Biting, now there was a novel idea. Yes, he knew he liked the lady warrior for a reason.


	5. Neal

**AN: Thank you Kiki1forest for the review and thank you anonymous person for the other one! They made me smile. Ok. This one is a bit different in style from the others, but I had this idea of Neal responding to things he learned from Alanna over the years of being her squire. I may repeat perspectives in the future, but I'm trying to do different ones each time for now. Let me know if you want a specific character! So, without further ado, here's Neal's perspective. Enjoy. **

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_**I've got my words. I hope they:**_

_**Make you see that your name is your honor code.**_

_**Pick and choose where your sweat and your blood will go.**_

_**Make sure you're not fighting for nothing.**_

_**-Meg and Dia**_

Alanna the Lioness, also Neal's knight mistress, never ceased to surprise him with the things she said. Not many people left Neal floundering for words. Sir Alanna was one exception.

"_I used to be afraid of my gift."_

He couldn't begin to fathom the idea that Alanna had once been scared of her gift. How could such confidence be exuded from a person who had once harbored such a fear? Here was the woman who healed the prince when all hope was lost. Here was the woman who was chosen by the Goddess, who battled immortals, and who was a hero in every way. Here was that woman, admitting that she was human. Here she was admitting her fears. Neal's gained a newfound respect for the woman at that moment.

"_Nealan of Queenscove. That's a strong name. Honorable. Keep it that way, alright?"_

How was he supposed to respond to that? Alanna wasn't the type of person to spout praise and when she did, it was never in a normal way. When people told him "well done" he said his thanks and moved on. Alanna's rare praise always left him pondering the meaning and it meant that much more to him because of its depth. He was beginning to become rather adept at uncovering the lesson that her words always concealed. Apparently today's lesson regarded names.

The Baroness of Pirate's Swoop. The Goddess's Chosen. The Burning Brightly One. Alanna had so many names, he wasn't sure how she kept them all straight. He once called her Sir Knight Mistress and they both stood there confused for a few moments. There was 'Page Alan' or 'Squire Alan' which he only knew because Sir Raoul, Sir Gary, and even the king once in while called her that, for no particular reason other than to watch her face turn red at an impressive rate. Neal would never tell her, but he thought that name was rather important. It represented everything she was willing to do in order to become a knight. She changed her whole identity for 8 years.

Then there was 'Sir Alanna'. She rarely responded to 'Lady Alanna' because it wasn't the point she was trying to make. Unlike Kel, who did things to remind people that she was a woman, Sir Alanna had to remind people that she was a man's equal in every way. That meant having the same title that the men had. Whenever she responded to "Lady Alanna', Neal made sure she realized it. He constantly asked her if she was feeling more "feminine and gentle" that day. He never escaped unscathed. Another of her titles was 'The King's Champion'. This name was a sign of her station, of her friendship with the king, and of her duty to Tortall. It spoke of a challenge: to defy the crown meant to challenge the champion.

Which brings everyone to her last and most famous name, The Lioness. The name speaks for itself. She is a force to be reckoned with. Neal knows not to cross her path when she is the Lioness. When she is just his knight mistress, he has no qualms about goading and riling her up, but he would never want to be on the opposite side of a true battle with the Lioness. People shouldn't mess with legends.

He understood it now. Names meant everything. They stood for your past, your present, your accomplishments, and what you stood for. If Neal ended up with names half as honorable as Alanna's, he would die a happy man.

"_I once told Myles that if I killed everyone who was stupid, I would never have time to sleep. Time hasn't changed that. The same goes for healing. You can't save everyone. You have to pick your battles, Neal." _

A man had died and Neal couldn't save him. A man had died and Neal had watched, helpless, because he knew he couldn't save him. He knew that Alanna was right. He knew he wasn't all-powerful and that people weren't invincible. If he tried to save everyone he would drain his magic and die himself. It was a hard lesson to learn, but he felt better knowing that Alanna had gone through the same thing. Even heroes had to learn lessons.

"_Make sure you're not fighting for nothing, squire. I can't imagine anything worse than falling in battle, meeting the Black God, and being clueless as to what I died for in the first place. Those are the men that are the worst to kill, the ones fighting wars for men they've never met or seen. People dying for causes they could care less about. People fighting for nothing."_

Neal had often questioned the Lioness as to her reasons why she became a knight. He usually had a fifty-fifty chance of either getting a smart remark or a genuine answer. He figured that it depended on the weather. Today was rather sunny, so he tried his luck and was granted with one of the best pieces of advice he had ever received. Alanna was a knight so she could fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. She was a knight to protect those she loved and the kingdom she loved. She was knight so she could fight for something worth fighting for. Suddenly, Neal no longer had any regrets about choosing to be a knight over continuing at the University in Carthak.

"_You'll make a fine knight one day, Neal."_

Yes, Neal's knight mistress had a knack for surprising him with the things she said, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Not at all.


	6. Thayet

_****_A/N: Thank you, **Hygri**, for the review! I'm posting Thayet POV because I'm having writer's block on Kel's. So Kel, Roger, Raoul are the next on my list. I'm having problems with spacing on dialogue...I feel like I shouldn't have paragraphs with multiple lines of dialogue from different characters...so I'm experimenting. Sorry about that. Anyway, I don't own any of the characters. Enjoy.

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_**Well I knew**_

_**What I didn't want to know**_

_**And I saw**_

_**Where I didn't want to go**_

_**So I took the path less traveled on**_

_**And I'll let my stories be whispered**_

_**When I'm gone...**_

_**-As It Seems by Lily Kershaw**_

Thayet studied her friend from across the room. Alanna may have been an enigma to the more conservative nobles, but to people who knew her she was quite transparent. She wore her heart on her sleeve and voiced her opinion, often quite passionately, for she was no good at lying. Thayet sometimes wondered how on earth Alanna pulled off her disguise for eight years. Jonathan insisted that he knew something was off about 'Alan', but Thayet knew the truth. Jon had no clue until that fateful night in the Great Southern Desert.

Thayet often wondered what it was like to know 'Page Alan'. Would she, as a female herself, have noticed the peculiarities in the supposed boy? However, knowing Alanna for several years now, she figured that acting like a member of the opposite sex probably came quite easily in her youth. In fact, even now, when Alanna fought with a helm on her head people often mistook her for a man simply because of her superior skill with a sword.

She remembered a conversation she once had with the red head a year or two ago regarding why she chose to become a knight. Thayet tilted her head in reminiscence.

_Alanna and Thayet were sitting on a fence around the edges of the training fields, resting after a practice bout with the sword. Thayet still had trouble with the sheer weight of the blade. Alanna insisted that it took hours and hours of training clumsily with Coram's heavy blade before she could handle a smaller sword with any skill. The thought of a young Alanna, training in the late hours of the night by herself, made Thayet think._

"_Why'd you choose the path you did, Alanna?" _

_She had been thinking the question and didn't realize that she had spoken aloud until Alanna gave an unladylike snort and answered, "I'd seen the type of ladies that the convent spat out. I already didn't want to be a lady and then I saw what Lady Catherine, an awful excuse for a woman, was like. I told Thom to smack me if I ever acted the slightest bit like her."_

_Thayet pondered her statement and then asked, "So you did it all just because you didn't want to be a lady?" _

_Alanna's brow furrowed as she responded, "No, Thom and I, from a very young age saw the paths and the types of people that we didn't want to be. We never really met people that were the types of people that we _did_ want to be. We concluded that they didn't exist…yet. So promised we'd become them. They were paths that not many people, if any, had treaded so we didn't know how they would end. Now that I've seen how Thom's journey ended…I wonder if those paths were meant to be treaded at all." _

_Alanna looked up and Thayet was surprised to see that the other woman's eyes were shining with unshed tears. The death of Alanna's twin was still a painful topic, even after all this time. Thayet didn't really know how to comfort her. __She simply said, "I don't know about Thom, but you took the right path, Alanna. You're meant to be here. You're meant to be a hero. If it weren't for you, Buri and I would probably be running around the countryside shooting arrows at unsuspecting travelers." _

_That garnered a laugh out of Alanna. "You did almost shoot Liam and me. You have no idea how grateful I am you didn't."_

_Thayet smiled, "I'm also glad I didn't."_

Thayet quirked her lips and once again studied Alanna across the room. Alanna was talking with Sir Myles and her husband, George Cooper. She laughed to herself as she realized that Alanna actually looked somewhat like a lady with her lilac dress and pierced ears. Granted, she was probably the most unusual lady in the room. She was probably engaged in a discussion about fighting tactics or histories of wars. Thayet guessed that underneath the dress, her friend was probably carrying a startling array of daggers. The King's Champion was probably the only person, besides the guards, that could get away with attending a court function fully armed. Yes, Alanna may _look_ like a lady, but underneath it all was something much more fierce and story worthy. Alanna was the result of a long journey on a road less travelled. She was a hero.


	7. Roger

A/N: "Un-healable" is a word, folks. At least it is now...if only in my world. So this one is so blasted short...but surprisingly fun to write. Since the length is deplorable, I have also posted Faithful's POV. Thank you **wolfgirlalways** for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Kel's POV is proving to be an exercise in overcoming writer's block for me, but I'm hoping it will be up soon. Enjoy.

Oh...beware of the abuse of italics. I just like the way the words _slant_. See? Just like that? So cool. Sorry, I'm in a weird mood. Maybe it's because it's 2 in the morning and I'm running on little to no sleep and energy drinks. Healthy living, my friends, healthy living.

Disclaimer: I own nothing...but my birthday's coming up. ;) jk. All I want for my birthday is gas money. Yay for being a broke student.

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**Set during _In the Hands of the Goddess_**

Duke Roger's chess game was turning out to be more complicated than he had originally expected. While the game had been elaborate to begin with, it was painstakingly planned. However, things were not going as planned.

The Sweating Sickness should've been un-healable. The demons that dwelled in the Black City should've been unbeatable. His cousin, Prince Jonathan, should've had a tragic, but predictable death. The only thing that had turned out to be unpredictable was a mere boy.

Roger had to admit that Alan of Trebond unsettled him from the very first moment he met him. As a page, the young Trebond was nothing more than a waif of a boy, but with eyes like that, the Duke supposed you couldn't help but be unsettled. Those eyes weren't _natural_.

The boy just seemed to be full to the brim with unusual…_peculiarities_.

First, Alan resisted his magic.

Second, he ended up wielding a magical sword. And he had the _nerve_ to claim that Sir Myles gave it to him. Oh, a sword like that just _laying_ around in an armory. Yes, and the Sweating Sickness was just _floating_ around in the air. Roger happened to know that neither of those statements held any truth to them. What did this boy take him for, a fool?

Duke Roger of Conte could and would see right through any lie Alan of Trebond tried to get past him.

Finally, as if everything else wasn't enough, the child showed up with that twice-cursed cat, with eyes the exact shade of his own. The cat decided it.

Something was off about Alan of Trebond and it was much more than his eyes.

Yes, Squire Alan was becoming more than a problem. He was now a problem and a half. He was lucky the boy was so short or he might've amounted up to two problems, but Roger was the optimistic sort. This intricate game of chess was his and his alone. Alan would remain a pawn in the game. He would never become a knight.


	8. Faithful

A/N: Double Post tonight. It's the caffeine. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nada.

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**Set Post Lioness Rampant, during Realm of the Gods. Slight Spoilers for the Provost's Dog series.**

The constellation, often referred to as "The Cat", curled up comfortably on the Great Mother Goddess's throne. Favored as he was by the goddess, the worst she would do was shoo the cat off when she came to sit for the council. As it was, the council was not going to be for a while, so he contented himself to doze in the throne for the time being, lazily closing his purple eyes. It was nice to be home, but he did miss the mortal realms. You see, the cat held an odd fascination for mortals.

Over the centuries he had attached himself to a few special humans that he took a liking to. Beka Cooper, whom he was known to as Pounce, was a servant of the Black God. She had been destined to do great things, and as a Provost's Dog, she had done exactly that. Unfortunately, his time with Beka was cut short due to his intervention in mortal affairs. He had to return to the divine realms for judgment and thus had to say good-bye to the blonde woman he had devoutly watched over for years. After Beka came his most recent mortal friend, a girl by the name of Alanna of Trebond, now known as The Lioness and the first lady knight in centuries. Alanna knew the cat as Faithful. He came to her as a kitten and spent many a days watching her grow from a youngling to a warrior. He appreciated the fire in her violet eyes, the same shade as his own. She was stubborn, temperamental, and a fighter. Everything the cat needed for an excellent adventure.

Just as he did with Beka, he grew to care greatly for the girl and it took everything not to interfere much with her life. In an ironic turn of events, Faithful's time was also cut short with Alanna. Killed defending the girl against a princess of the Copper Isles, the cat returned home to the divine realms. However, he kept an eye on his charge. Alanna grew up to be everything the cat knew she would be. She was just as fierce and loyal as Beka, maybe a bit easier on the Rogue though. Oddly enough, Alanna was married to an ancestor of Beka's. It was at times like this that the cat found the mortal realms stiflingly small, however no one could deny that he was a good judge of character. Both girls had become heroes of the realm in every sense of the word. Alanna now traveled the realm upholding the king's law and defending the crown. She had battled bandits, hill men, immortals, and mages gone bad. She had learned to love despite her protests. She had made her way in the world. His stubborn lion cub had grown to be a lioness.

His reverie was interrupted by the arrival of the council and two humans. After being shooed from the throne he trotted over to the young human girl. Curly brown hair and a stubborn chin, Daine, he believed her name was. A friend of Alanna's. Yes, stiflingly small indeed.


	9. Kel

A/N: I finally wrote Kel. Happy Halloween everybody! Enjoy.

Set After _Squire_. Could be before or after _Lady Knight_.

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**_And all the roads we have to walk are winding_**

**_-Wonderwall by Oasis_**

If you took a look at the two sole Lady Knights of Tortall, one might be curious as to how the two women came to make same choice of becoming a knight.

It didn't take a scholar to notice the differences between the women. You could start with the obvious: height or temperament. Then you could move on to the subtle, more technical differences: preferred weapon or presence of The Gift. Some may even take into consideration the fact that one infuriates the conservatives by taking the title and shield of a woman and the other infuriates them by taking the title of a man. It seems to bring to light that the conservatives just don't know quite what they want.

However, none of this mattered to Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan. The only thing that startled her when she finally met the Lioness, was just how _human_ her hero was.

For such a long time, Kel had imagined Alanna as this invincible, larger than life being. The truth was, she was just a short, stubborn, and fiery tempered woman with a magnificent destiny.

Kel had once asked Alanna how she did it. She wanted to know how Alanna became one of those people to fight alone in dark places. She will never forget the response.

"_The thing is, I was never really alone. People, every one of us, we walk these winding roads, but the thing about roads is that they intersect with others. I am the product of several collisions with other people's winding paths. I collided with George, Jonathan, Raoul, Gary, Thayet, Myles… even you. It's not the obstacles I fight along my own path that makes me "one of those people". It's not even the goals I set for myself. It's the strangers I ran into along the way. Strangers that became friends and family. I never know where my road will lead, but my friends and family are my beacons. They lead me home. So even when I do fight alone, I'm fighting for someone for someone other than just myself."_

Alanna constantly says that she is not one to look to for inspirational speeches, but when you catch her off guard, she sure knows what she's talking about.

Kel was comforted by Alanna's honesty. Alanna was still her hero. She had done what many will never be able to even dream of doing. She was the truth behind bard's songs, tavern tales, and children's bedtime stories. Yet, she was human.

She walked a path, but she wasn't always alone. She wasn't always this legendary fighter. She wasn't always a woman who left people gaping, in either awe or scandalization.

She was once just a girl with a dream to become a knight. She was a woman with people she loved and wanted to protect. She was a human walking her winding road in the world.

Despite all their glaring differences, when you got right down to it, the two Lady Knights of Tortall weren't that different from each other after all.


	10. Raoul

**Set during **_**Lioness Rampant**_**.**

* * *

_You held your head like a hero_

_On a history book page_

_It was the end of a decade_

_But the start of an age_

_-Taylor Swift_

Raoul watched his small friend from across the deck. He felt a twinge of sympathy for her as she leaned her entire body against the ship's railing, pale as a ghost. He once again thanked the gods that he was not prone to sea sickness.

He knew that their small crew of reckless friends had grown up and changed. Jon was on the cusp of kinghood and Gary was practically the acting prime minister. However, it was the short, stocky adventurer currently heaving with a vengeance that had taken the world by storm. At the moment, her sorry state did a poor job of representing exactly what she had become.

The large knight wasn't quite sure what he had expected to find when and if he found his friend. Surely he hadn't believed that he would stumble across Alan, the prince's bold and fiery squire, but he hadn't quite anticipate _this_. This was not Alan. Alan had come to the palace disguised as a boy, with the sole intention of winning her shield. Yes, Alan had won the unwavering loyalty of the Crown Prince and the King of Thieves. Alan had fought demons and bested a full grown knight as a mere squire. However, this was someone completely different. This was the Lioness. For only she would return from a year of adventuring an adopted member of the Bazhir, complete with a name of Woman Who Rides Like A Man. Only she would keep the casual company of the Shang Dragon, a Kmiri tribeswoman, and a beautiful princess. Only she would return bearing the fruit of fables, the Dominion Jewel, for the glory of Tortall.

The greatest thing about it all was that she didn't even know it. Alanna didn't know that she was the only person who could inspire such respect and loyalty in such magnificent people. Sometimes Raoul would search restlessly for a sign of the young page who stood face to face with Ralon of Malven in clothes far too large and spoke fighting words far too bold. Most days he couldn't even catch a glimpse.

He shook himself from his thoughts as the Lioness herself came staggering over to him, looking for all the world like a forlorn human being after a rough night of drinking. She braced herself against the railing of the ship next to him and rasped out a greeting.

"Mithros, I know this is urgent, but next time I'll swim."

Raoul smiled at the irony of little Page Alan talking about swimming voluntarily. Alanna sank to the deck and sat with her legs splayed out in front of her. He looked down at her, more down than normal, and laughed.

"You almost bit my head off once for trying to get you to swim with us."

She gave him her classic full-fledged smile, despite the fact that she must've been feeling awful.

"I used to just put something slimy in your bed to get back at you. Maybe I should get that out of my system before I get back to Tortall. Watch where you sleep, Goldenlake."

There was fire-top he knew. Maybe today wasn't most days.


	11. Liam Ironarm

**A/N: This is the last of new characters for right now. I may repeat some characters' perspectives, but I don't have any new ones planned. If you would like a specific character, let me know. Enjoy.**

**Set during _Lioness Rampant_**

* * *

_All of your ways and all your thunder_

_Got me in a haze running for cover_

_Where we gonna go from here_

_-Mat Kearney_

Liam stroked the hair of the sleeping woman next to him with a gentleness that one wouldn't expect from a man like him. Around Alanna, he turned into such a bundle of contradictions. She evoked a tenderness in him that he had never really shown anyone before, even though he knew with all his heart that she didn't need it. Their dawn practice sessions had proven that much.

However, Alanna wasn't all stone. She had a fragility that she rarely displayed, but it was there. Liam had a knack for finding her weaknesses and unintentionally breaking her down. Perhaps it was because they were so much alike in temperament.

This was also the reason that he knew it wouldn't last between them. They were much too alike and Liam had accepted that, but then she went and did something that baffled and unsettled him. Here would be this fierce warrior who left legends in her wake, and then she would show up looking like a gentle lady in a dress. She would fight him relentlessly with a sword, effortlessly learn and imitate the Shang style, and then use magic without blinking an eye. Alanna had a way with taking two completely different worlds and setting them on a collision course.

Before he met the Lady Knight, people fit into simple boxes. Alanna tore apart every box he tried to put her in. He supposed it was fitting. Lionesses weren't meant to be caged.


End file.
